Drone affecting efforts to fight wildfire burning in B.C. Interior, crews say
A wildfire burning south of Lytton in B.C.'s Interior remained out of control Saturday, and fire crews said a drone sighting in the area has hampered their efforts.
The presence of the drone halted air operations on the south side of the fire, according to posts from the BC Wildfire Service on Twitter.
"This activity is extremely dangerous and poses a significant safety risk to personnel," the fire service said in its tweets. "If a drone collides with firefighting aircraft, the consequences could be deadly."
Drone operators must keep their devices away from wildfires, according to the service. Those who fail to stay out of the restricted airspace - which is a radius of five nautical miles around the fire to an altitude of 3,000 feet - can be fined as much as $100,000 and face up to a year of jail time, the wildfire service says.
The George Road fire is burning roughly seven kilometres south of Lytton, adjacent to Highway 1. As of Saturday morning, it was approximately 250 hectares in size, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
The fire is classified as "out of control" and two evacuation alerts have been issued as a result of it.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued an evacuation alert for 10 residences in Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country). A list of addresses is available on the district's website.
The Lytton First Nation has also issued an evacuation alert for IR 20 Kitzowit, which is located west of the fire. Details on the Lytton First Nation evacuation are posted on the BC Wildfire Service website.
Residents of an area under evacuation alert are advised to be prepared to leave their homes in case it is upgraded to an evacuation order.
According to the wildfire service, the George Road wildfire is believed to be human caused.
A total of 73 firefighters, nine helicopters, three water tenders and two pieces of heavy equipment are battling the blaze.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.